Residential market hotspots

A hotspot is population growth exceeds national rate and building approvals are over $100 million

ACT claimed top hotspot (Canberra City)

Victoria registered nine of the top twenty hotspots

The Australian Capital Territory and Victoria were the stand-out building and population "Hotspots" in Australia in 2010/11, says the Housing Industry Association.

The HIA-JELD-WEN Population and Residential Building Hotspots report provides a snapshot of Australia's fastest growing metropolitan and regional areas in 2010/11. A "Hotspot" is defined as a local area where population growth exceeds the national rate (which was 1.4 per cent in the year to June 2011) and where the value of residential building work approved is in excess of $100 million.

Victoria registered nine of the top twenty national Hotspots in 2010/11. The peformance of the ACT was equally impressive, claiming the number one Hotspot in the country (Canberra City) plus number six spot. Western Australia had five Hotspots in the top twenty, Queensland had three, and the Northern Territory had one.

"The ACT and Victoria were the two strongest housing markets going into 2010/11. The prominence of these two regions in the latest Hotspots list highlighted their potential for further out-performance. This potential was realised with new home building activity in particular remaining the strongest in the country throughout 2010/11 and 2011/12," said HIA Chief Economist, Dr Harley Dale.

Canberra City was Australia's top building and population Hotspot in 2010/11 with $131.7 million of residential building work approved and a population growth rate of nearly 40 per cent.

The second-placed Hotspot was Whittlesea North in Victoria with over $717 million worth of residential building work approved and a population growth rate of 17.4 per cent. Wyndham South placed third where in 2010/11 the value of residential building work approved hit over $441 million and the population growth rate was 14.0 per cent.

The top five list was rounded out by Griffin-Mango Hill in Queensland, followed by Cardinia-Pakenham in Victoria.

"In 2010/11 and also through this financial year we have seen Victoria and the ACT dominate, and therefore partially mask, an otherwise bleak new home building landscape. These markets are now slowing too amidst the first synchronised downturn in the new home sector since the post GST building recession of 2000/01," Harley Dale said.

"There were nintety Hotspots around Australia in 2010/11, clearly demonstrating the potential for considerably higher levels of residential construction activity than is occurring," Harley Dale said.

"Inappropriate policy settings and a malaise in housing supply reforms are preventing much of this potential becoming reality. That is to the detriment of an enormous number of households and businesses within and outside the housing industry, and is consequently harming Australia's economic growth and prosperity," added Harley Dale.